Brothers In Arms---A Chicago Fire Story
by mom2jlg
Summary: The Severide family just wants to get back to normal in the aftermath of Maggie's kidnapping and their ordeal with Jax and Dorrie. Kelly's home on medical furlough, so he's around to help his son Jesse when a new kid at school starts acting strange.
1. Chapter 1

**Brothers in Arms**

**Chapter 1**

The last few days had been crazy...but things were starting to get back to normal.

Jesse Severide was glad for that as he went through the cafeteria line at St. Pasqual's Elementary School. His twin brother Andy was just ahead of him and had his tray piled with double portions of Swedish meatballs and noodles. And of course two desserts.

The two boys charged their lunches to the family account...and in his mind Jesse could hear Dad complaining about the amount. Having almost thirteen year old twin boys was eating him out of house and home. Especially when one of those boys was Andy.

"Where you wanna sit?" Andy asked.

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Jesse scanned the cafeteria, first checking to see where his little sister Maggie was at and if she was okay.

This was the first day the kindergartener was back in school.

That was the crazy part. Monday had been a normal day. The kids went to school...Dad went to work. Mom went to the store in the morning and was home making cookies in the afternoon. Maggie went to Uncle Joey and Aunt EmmaLynn's after school to play with Ainsley...and that's when the crazy happened.

Some guy came screeching up in a black SUV, jumped out, pushed Ainsley to the ground and snatched Maggie. He threw her in the car, jumped in and went screeching down the block.

Jesse didn't understand...who would do that? This was a nice safe neighborhood...with almost half its residents working for the police or the fire department. But as the facts began to unravel, it was a personal thing. Somebody had been watching their whole family...for months.

The more of the story that came out, the scarier it became. Mom and Dad tried to keep the details away from the kids...especially the little ones. But with the whole family coming and going the way they had...Andy and Jesse couldn't help but over hear things.

The guy who grabbed Maggie called himself Jax, but his real name was John Rawlings Carter. He was from a rich family out in the suburbs...like where Uncle Jimmy used to live before he got divorced and bought the house right next door. He was smart...scary smart...but he just didn't think the rules applied to him. If taking a five year old wasn't proof enough.

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But Jax wasn't alone.

There was somebody else too. There was a developmentally delayed woman/girl named Dorrie, and she thought she was in love with his dad. Jax took advantage of her...but she was pretty scary all by herself. Once she got fixated on something, she couldn't let it go...even if whatever it was proved to be a lie.

Jesse shuddered.

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"Hey Jess..." Andy said. "Don't just stand there. Let's go sit down."

Andy was already heading for their usual table, where their cousin Connor was sitting with a bunch of guys for the seventh and eighth grade basketball teams. And Jesse started to follow his brother when someone else caught his eye.

Sitting all by himself at the end of a table right beside the door was a new kid. His name was Jake Sayer...and he just started at St. Pasqual's on Monday.

He was in Jesse's English and US History classes...and because their names were close, Mr. Morrissey assigned Jake to a seat near where Jesse sat.

Jake looked really down in the dumps. It must suck to have to go to a new school in the seventh grade...especially in a Catholic school...where everyone had been together since kindergarten. And to just drop in six weeks into the school year...had to be really tough.

"I'm gonna sit over there." Jesse said, and he changed directions to see if the new kid wanted company.

Andy didn't seem to hear...he was prob'ly already thinking about playing basketball as soon as he got done shoveling his food in.

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"Hey...mind if I sit with you?" Jesse asked as he approached the table.

Jake looked up from his sandwich...to see the kid who sat kiddie-corner to him in English class standing there.

He shrugged, and Jesse took that as an invitation.

"My name's Jesse Severide." he said.

The new kid nodded.

"Jake Sayer."

There was an awkward silence as the two kind of checked each other out.

"So where'd you move here from?" Jesse asked.

"Saint Louis."

"Do you like it here?"

Jake shrugged.

"It's okay I guess."

"What was your old school like?"

"Nothing like this. I went to public school. I never even been to church before."

"What about stuff like Communion and Reconciliation?"

The new kid shook his head.

"Then how'd you end up here?"

There were public schools in the neighborhood. Mom and Dad just didn't think they were as good as St. Pasqual's. Besides, Declan and Aiden were already going here...so his parents figured it was best to keep all the cousins together.

"My cousins go here...an' my aunt just put me here too."

"You live with your aunt?"

New Kid nodded.

"Yeah...my dad...he's goin' through a rough time...an'"

"Hey, I get it." Jesse said.

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They ate in silence.

"You wanna...maybe hang out after school?" Jesse asked.

"Like...today?"

"Sure." Jesse replied. "C'mon over to my house. We got a pool table in the basement...pinball machine...really cool TV set up. You can watch four different shows at the same time."

"No way."

"Yeah...my dad says it's a guy's dream on game day. All the guys come over an' just hang out."

Then he grinned.

"An' my mom's a really awesome cook."

"Okay." Jake said. "Sure."

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Kelly shifted uncomfortably on the couch.

It had only been a couple days since he and Jax had gone crashing to the floor in the crumbling old house that animal was calling home. Now in addition to his more obvious injuries, everything was stiff and sore. His back, both shoulders, both legs...he just felt like one giant bruise.

Alyssa came from the kitchen with a couple of ice packs. She could see how bad her husband felt...and he tried to downplay things even more than usual...so as not to upset the kids, Maggie in particular. He was so worried about how their daughter was doing after the whole ordeal. He just wanted to keep her close to him.

It had been a huge deal for the little girl to go back to school today. But Alyssa insisted that getting back to their normal routine was the only way for their family to heal.

After all, how many times had he said those very words to her?

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Kelly looked up as his wife crossed through the dining room and approached the huge, leather sectional sofa that took up the majority of the living room. He gave her a half-hearted smile that turned into a grimace as she gently arranged one of the ice packs on his right ankle.

"Careful..." he hissed as he caught his breath.

Lyssa came to sit beside him and as she drew him into her arms she eased the other cold pack against his shoulder.

Kelly let out a sigh and leaned into her. He was glad for the quiet time...the alone time...even if it was only for a few minutes.

"How're you doin', Honey?" Lyssa whispered.

"Better now." he whispered back.

Having his wife beside him always helped him to relax, to calm his fears. But usually he was dealing with questions like 'when would his body heal?' and 'when could he get back to work?'. This time, he wasn't really hurt all that bad...at least not as badly as he'd been a couple times before. But this time there was something different. Maybe it was he was getting older, and a lot of the old things were creeping back up on him.

Too many heavy thoughts...

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"Hey...lemme show you what I found." he said.

He reached out with his good arm, indicating to Alyssa to grab the tablet from the coffee table.

She picked it up and brought it to him...and Kelly reached out to take it from her. It took some maneuvering, and he growled in pain as he moved his right arm to tap the screen.

"Kelly..." Alyssa said as she reached to take it back. "I can hold it."

"Just...let me." he told her. "I can't do this thing left handed anyway."

He tapped the screen again, pulling up the pages he'd bookmarked in his last search.

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"I've got it all planned out..." Kelly said, turning the screen so she could see. "We can stay at this place here...I think this suite would work for us...we spend two days at Disneyland...maybe one day at this California Adventure park. Then we'll rent a car anyway...so we can go over here to this park.

He pulled up the website for Knotts Berry Farm.

"This place looks really cool...I think we'll need two days there to hit everything. And we can go to Universal Studios...it's not the same as the one we went to in Florida...and we'll prob'ly wanna see the Chinese theatre and the stars on the sidewalk thing..."

"Kelly..."

"Wait, I'm not done." he said. "Then we can drive down to San Diego...and do like two days at Sea World...and they've got a water park too. We can spend a day there...and then we can go to the zoo. I figure one day there's enough. And then maybe we just hang out at the beach for a day or so...we can charter a boat, do a little fishing..."

"Kelly...what are you talking about? Do you have any idea what a trip like this'll cost?"

"I know it's a prob'ly a lot..."

"Yeah...like ten...maybe twelve grand...when you're looking at air fare, car, hotel...that first place was over $600 a day! And then all the tickets...food...gas...what are you thinking?"

"Well, Maggie wants to go to Disneyland...she keeps askin' if we're gonna go..."

"Dorrie was the one who promised her that...not you. You don't have to make good on the promise of a lunatic."

"I know...but she's been saying she wants to go for a while...and I figure we can go right when school lets out."

"Just because Maggie says she wants something doesn't mean it has to happen." Alyssa said. "I mean...I want to go to Paris...and Venice...and Tuscany...that doesn't mean I get to."

"You never know what your husband's got up his sleeve..." Kelly told her in a teasing voice.

He was trying to lighten the mood. He knew what he was suggesting was extravagant...but some good family time with tons of memorable activities...after everything that had happened not just this past week, but the past few months...hell, the past _year_...it sounded like just what the doctor ordered.

"No...but I know what he's got in the bank." Alyssa said.

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Jesse and his new friend Jake came out the front door of the school, laughing about some joke...

"Jess!"

At the sound of his name, Jesse looked up.

"Hey Uncle Mouch..." he said.

Normally Kelly walked over to St. Pasqual's to pick up Maggie...or on the days he was on shift she just walked home with her brothers and the rest of the kids. But today...

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"Your dad asked me to walk your sister home." Mouch said. "You wanna wait?"

Jesse shook his head.

"No...we're just gonna head out." he said.

Then he remembered his manners.

"Oh...I'm sorry. Uncle Mouch...this is Jake Sayer. He just moved here from St. Louis."

"Nice to meet you, Jake." Mouch replied.

The new kid nodded.

"We're just gonna go..." Jesse said.

"Okay...you got your phone handy?" the firefighter asked.

"Yes, sir." Jesse answered, taking it out of the pocket of his hoodie.

"Keep it handy." Mouch told him. "I'll see you later."

"Okay...bye."

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The two boys started walking while Mouch waited for Maggie and Ainsley.

"That's your uncle?" Jake asked as they turned right on Melvina.

"He's not really my uncle..." Jesse said. "He and my dad worked together for a long time. Like...twenty years..."

The two boys crossed the street.

"Usually my dad comes to get my sister...or Andy and I just walk her home...but it's been a weird week."

Then suddenly, Jake put the pieces together.

On Monday...his first day at St. Pasqual's...a little girl got kidnapped in the neighborhood. She was playing outside...and somebody just grabbed her.

"Was that your sister? On Monday?"

Jesse nodded.

"Yeah...and my dad probably woulda probably sat outside the school all day...but he got hurt at work...and my mom's gotta stay with him. So that's why he sent Uncle Mouch."

"That's a weird name..."

"Oh, his real name's Randy." Jesse explained. "Mouch is just what the guys called him at work. Half man...half couch."

Jesse chuckled.

A lot of his dad's co-workers had nick names. There was Bulldog...Sparky...Tiny...

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The boys crossed Melvina to Byron, and walked the three short blocks to the Severide's.

They went around the back.

"This is where my sisters play..." Jesse said as they skirted around the doll houses, the play kitchen...and the pink firehouse.

It looked like a toy store threw up on the back porch.

"Jeez..." Jake breathed.

"I know..." Jesse replied. "But we've got a huge family. Birthdays and Christmas are kinda wild around here."

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They went through the kitchen...into the dining room and headed for the living room.

Mom and Dad were on the couch.

"Hey...Mom...Dad..."

Kelly and Alyssa looked up.

"Hey Jess." Kelly said.

Jesse came into the room, with a new boy behind him.

"How're you feelin' Dad?" he asked.

"Better..." Kelly answered. "I'll be okay before you know it."

Alyssa gently rubbed her hand up and down his left arm.

"What'd the doctor say?" Jesse wanted to know.

Lyssa had taken Kelly to the doctor that morning...

"Nothin' I didn't already know." Kelly replied. "Shoulder's broken...ankle's sprained...and from my knee up to my hip's one giant bruise."

"You know how long you're gonna be out?"

"We'll see."

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He looked over to the new kid.

"Why don't you introduce us to your friend?" he suggested.

"Oh...sorry..."Jesse apologized. "Mom...Dad...this is Jake Sayer. He just moved here from St. Louis. Jake...this is my mom and dad."

"Nice to meet you." Jake said.

"Same here." Kelly told him. "Welcome to the Windy City."

"Can we hang out downstairs?" Jesse asked.

They still needed permission to go into the "man cave". That was Kelly's sacred domain, where the guys from 51 hung out to watch a ball game, play poker...shoot a game of pool...have a drink. They still frequented Mollie's...but for a quieter night out, the Severide's was the place to be. That and Lyssa's cooking beat the hell out of pretzels and peanuts.

"Sure..." Kelly said.

"Thanks." Jesse said. "C'mon..."

He led his friend downstairs to the basement.

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Lyssa had "given" Kelly the man cave when they first bought the house. She conspired with Casey...and he set her up with another contractor whose work he trusted implicitly. And when Black Watch was on shift, the work got done.

The full basement had been partitioned off into three rooms...one was for storage, another housed the tread-climber machine Lyssa used to work out...and Kelly used for a quick cardio workout when he couldn't get to the gym. But the majority of the space was a rec room. The walls were painted a deep red with dark wooden base boards. There were deep, brown leather sofas and two massive recliner chairs.

The far wall had not one, not two...but four 38" flat screens mounted, allowing the guys to watch four games at once. There was a vintage pinball machine...a massive pool table...and a hexagonal poker table to match. But the focal point of the room was the bar. Made of English walnut...with a sink and two refrigeration units, it was stocked with every kind of spirit imaginable.

And all the decor was firefighter-related. The shelves behind the bar held models of vintage fire trucks and collectable beer steins with firefighting themes. The walls held different signs...some were a little raunchy, with 1940's style pin up girls and little one-liners like "Be safe...sleep with a firefighter". Others said things like "Real heroes don't wear capes". There were framed posters depicting the evolution of the firefighters gear...and ones with inspirational and motivational quotes about brotherhood and courage.

Kelly couldn't believe it when she carefully led him down the darkened steps to the to the big reveal. He had had no idea all this was going on while he was at work.

All his life he'd lived in two bedroom, one bathroom apartments. Most of the time the dedicated space he could call his own was no more than a glorified closet. Now...his wife...it had still felt weird saying that...had given him this...this..._room_ that was beyond anything he'd ever dreamed of having.

He'd taken Lyssa in his arms...and that was no easy feat back then with the twins in between fighting and kicking for every inch of space inside her tummy. But he did it anyway.

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Jesse turned on the lights and Jake stopped in his tracks.

All this stuff...he couldn't help but stop and stare.

At first Jesse took his new friend's expression to be one of awe. That was most people's reaction to the four TV's, the massive bar...the pool table...the pinball machine. But then a funny expression crossed the other boy's face.

"What's wrong?" Jesse asked.

"I gotta go..." Jake said abruptly. "I'm sorry...I..."

Then he turned and ran up the stairs.

He ran through the kitchen, stopping long enough to grab his backpack by the door, and high-tailed it through the four seasons room and out the back door.

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"Hey!" Kelly called from the living room, wondering what was going on.

Jesse came tearing up the stairs a moment later...just in time to hear the back door slam.

Not thinking twice, he followed the new kid.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

Jake skidded to a halt at the end of the Severide's' driveway.

Which way had they come from? He was all turned around. The only place he'd been in the neighborhood was to St. Pasqual's and his aunt's house.

He was about to start walking back the way he remembered coming from school when he heard his name.

"Jake! Stop!" Jesse called. "Wait up!"

Jesse jogged down to where Jake was standing.

"What the heck was that all about?" he asked.

"Huh?" Jake asked, still trying to figure out how to get home from here. "Nothing...I just remembered...I, uh promised Aunt Ava I'd babysit my cousins today."

Jesse gave him a look that said he wasn't buyin' it.

"I just have to go..." Jake said feebly.

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Jesse softened. There was something wrong...and acting all pissed wasn't the way to be.

He'd learned that from his mom.

"Okay...I'll walk with you." he replied. "What's your address?"

Jake told him an address on West Grace...on the other side of Melvina, almost to Narragansett.

As the boys walked west on Byron, Jesse tried again.

"So what happened down in the basement? Why'd you freak out like that?"

But Jake answered the question with one of his own.

"Why didn't you say your dad was a firefighter?"

"What's that gotta do with anything?"

Jake was kicking himself. There were so many clues...and he didn't see them. It was so obvious now. The dad's co-worker pickin' up Jesse's sister...the doofey nickname...Jesse saying his dad got hurt at work and what Mr. Severide said about a broken shoulder, a sprained ankle and a bruised hip...most likely from a fall.

How many times had he heard that story before?

"You just shoulda said." he snapped.

"Why?"

"Cause I can't be friends with you."

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Jesse's head snapped around.

"Cause 'a what my dad does? That doesn't make sense."

"I just don' want anything to do with the fire department...or any firefighters!" Jake yelled.

"I don't get it." Jesse said. "You got a beef with the fire department? You've only been here a week..."

"Not the fire department. With the firefighters. They're all a bunch 'a liars! An' I hate 'em all!"

Jake wasn't making a bit of sense...but Jesse could see how riled up he was. He just didn't understand the reason. What could the new kid have against the CFD?

"Can we just back up a minute here?" Jesse asked. "I mean...I get you're upset. But I don't get why my dad's job makes you think we can't be friends."

"I just don't." Jake grumbled, picking up his pace to get away from Jesse.

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Then he turned back.

"How'd your dad get hurt?" he asked suddenly.

Jesse blinked. Talk about a one-eighty.

"It happened Monday." he started. "The guy that grabbed my sister took her to this creepy old house. It was all boarded up an' the city has it slated for demolition. Anyway...they needed the firefighters to go in 'cause the structure was unstable. And my dad an' the guy fell down the basement stairs when the whole thing came down."

"The house?"

Jesse shook his head.

"No...just the stairs. The guy that took Maggie's still in the hospital with a broken leg...and you saw what happened to my dad."

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"Don't you get scared your dad's gonna really get hurt someday?" Jake whispered...so softly Jesse almost didn't hear him.

"He did. He has..." Jesse told him. "There was this time...like...four years ago...my dad almost died. He was in the hospital for a really, really long time...an' even when he got to come home he wasn't better."

"What happened?"

"I don' know. They didn't tell me 'n Andy the whole thing. Uncle Matt jus' said this guy freaked out and started attacking my dad. He pulled his helmet off...he pulled his mask off. Andy thought the guy did it on purpose...but that doesn't make any sense, does it? I mean...the firefighter's are tryin' to rescue people. Why would somebody try to hurt 'em? Unless they were crazy to start with."

"Who's Uncle Matt?"

"Me n' Andy's godfather." Jesse explained. "He's the Lieutenant in charge of Truck 81...an' Aunt Leslie's our godmother. She's a paramedic on Ambulance 61."

"So how'd your dad get better?" Jake asked.

"My mom took care 'a him...an' the whole family helped out. Uncle Matt...Aunt Leslie...Uncle Pete...Uncle Jose...Aunt Gabby...Chief...Uncle Chris...Uncle Mouch. Everybody just pitched in. An' my dad went to rehab...it took a really long time...but eventually he was okay."

Jake stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.

"My dad's not gonna be okay." he said.

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"Is your dad a firefighter too?"

Suddenly it all made more sense.

"An' he got hurt?" Jesse asked. "Is that why you had to move in with your aunt?"

Jake nodded slowly.

"It happened 'bout two months ago. There was a hotel fire...an' my dad's team got trapped...an' the building collapsed."

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"Daddy!" Maggie Grace came running through the house. "Daddy I missed-ded you!"

Kelly braced himself for what was coming next...forty pounds crashing against his body. He grimaced as the movement jarred his shoulder...but he didn't care.

His Baby Girl was home safe and sound.

He pulled Maggie close and kissed her on the top of her head, feeling the silky soft baby curls against his face...

"I missed you too, Baby Girl." he said. "Did you have a good day at school?"

She nodded, her curls bouncing up and down vigorously.

"They maked a big sign dat said "Welcome Back Maggie!"...an' I got to be the line leader...an' the lunch lady gived me a extra cookie for 'zert!"

"That's great..." Kelly told her as he settled back against the pillows on the couch. "Why don't you go upstairs and put some play clothes on? And ask your mom to come down here for me?"

Maggie nodded again and gave Kelly one more big hug before she ran up the stairs calling for her mommy.

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Mouch strolled through the kitchen...stopping long enough to life the lid on the slow cooker and inhaling the scent of beef burgundy. He saw the glass bowl on the counter covered with a cloth. That meant fresh bread.

He wished he didn't have to go to his job as a security guard tonight.

"Hey..." Severide called out. "Quit pokin' around in my kitchen..."

With a heavy sigh Mouch set the lid back on the pot and headed for the dining room.

"Just checkin' out what's cookin'..." he said.

"You stayin' for dinner?"

Mouch shook his head.

"No...I gotta be at work by five thirty. I just wanted to tell you Mrs. Ellis said she did fine today. Nothin' you need to worry about."

That was good to hear.

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"Hey...did you happen to run into Jesse an' his friend outside?" Kelly asked.

He wanted to know what was going on...why Jake had run out.

"I saw 'em at the school...but that's it." Mouch told him. "Why? Did they get home okay?"

Kelly nodded.

"Yeah...but they went downstairs...an' then next thing I know the friend's runnin' out the door like the bells're goin' off...an' Jesse's right behind 'im."

"No...I didn't see 'em outside." Mouch said. "You want me to go look for 'em?"

Severide thought about that...then reluctantly shook his head.

He had to let the boys be...not hover over them like they were little kids.

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Maggie came sliding down the steps on her bottom, having changed out of her school uniform and into her favorite black polka-dotted leggings with her pink ruffled t-shirt.

"Can I have a snack?" she asked "Please...please...please?"

"I'll get it for her..." Mouch told Severide.

"Sure..." Kelly replied. "Go with Uncle Mouch, Baby Girl."

Maggie popped to her feet from the bottom step and scrambled down remaining two from the landing. She slipped her little hand into Mouch's and started pulling the firefighter toward the kitchen.

"Wanna have a tea party, Uncle Mouch?" she chattered.

Severide shook his head with a rueful grin. He'd never...till the day he died...forget the time he and Alyssa had come home to find Mouch and the girls having a tea party. Nor would he forget the sight of the firefighter in the big, pink, floppy picture hat with a purple feather boa wrapped around his neck and plastic jewelry draped everywhere Maggie and Lexi could hang it. It was just one of those things you could never un-see.

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Alyssa made her way down the steps and crossed the living room to her husband's side.

"Did you want somethin', Honey?" she asked.

"Just you..." he said as he reached for her hand to pull her to his side.

"What's wrong, Baby?"

But Kelly just settled against her. It was that time. The medicine he'd taken for the pain had worn off...and it was still too early to take any more.

Lyssa sighed and gave him a kiss.

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"What time's Lexi gettin' back?" Kelly asked.

"Any time now..."

Today was the pre-schooler's gym 'n swim program at the Y. It was one of her favorite activities...half an hour of gymnastics, followed by half an hour in the pool.

And today Vargas...another retired firefighter from Station 51 was on Munchkin Duty.

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They'd had non-stop support since the minute Maggie went missing. The family had rushed over to the Severide house...Lyssa's mom, Kelly's dad, Lyssa's brothers...and the fire house family. Mouch dropped everything as soon as the Amber Alert came up on his phone...and Vargas hadn't been far behind.

And after the team had rescued Maggie, starting as soon as Black Watch's shift was finished, everyone came over to see what they could do. Shay had slept in the guest room the past two nights...Casey had camped out on the couch. Mills stayed one night...and Otis stayed the next.

Not that all that was necessary. Jax was in the hospital under twenty-four hour police guard and Dorrie was locked up in the psych ward for the third time in less than two months.

Everyone had made jokes about the Hotel Severide or the West Byron Annex of Station 51. But when the chips were down, family was something Kelly and Alyssa knew they had to lean on.

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Mouch came back to the living room...

"Did ya' forget your floppy hat?" Kelly quipped.

"I thought we agreed to never speak of that again..." Mouch replied.

"Fair enough."

Kelly had done a lot of things to make his girls happy...but he was careful to never get caught in a compromising position. Meaning one the guys would never let him live down.

"Are you staying for dinner, Mouch?" Lyssa asked.

"No..." the firefighter sighed reluctantly. "I've gotta work tonight. An' I need to get goin' in a few minutes."

"I'll pack something up for you." she said.

That got a smile.

"I appreciate it." Mouch told her. "No...there was somethin' I heard from a buddy from work. Security's only his part time gig. He's a bailiff over at 26th and Cal."

26th and California was the County Jail...and the Criminal Court for the city.

"He told me Jax's arraignment is on tomorrow's docket. He's being moved over to the hospital ward at the prison this afternoon."

Mouch glanced at his watch.

"He's prob'ly already gone."

"Do you know what time?" Kelly asked. "I wanna be there."

"Kelly...that's crazy." Alyssa told him. "You can barely walk..."

"I'm well aware of that...thank you." he snapped. "But we're talking about the animal who kidnapped our daughter."

"You draggin' yourself down there wouldn't make any difference." Mouch said. "You know how these things work. You don't get to say anything...and when he enters a 'not guilty' plea...all it's gonna do is raise your blood pressure."

Kelly started to say he didn't care...that he wanted to be there anyway to look the sonofabitch in the eye. But they were both right. He wouldn't get to say a damn word...and Alyssa would have to take him. And that was one place he never wanted his wife to see again.

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"Uncle Mouch!" Maggie called from the kitchen. "Can I have another cookie?"

Mouch started to get to his feet.

"No, I'll go." Alyssa said. "I need to put the bread in the oven anyway."

She disentangled herself from Kelly's arms and gave him a quick kiss.

Kelly watched her go. He hadn't meant to snap at her...

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"How many things ya' think they're gonna charge him with?" Mouch wondered out loud.

"Huh?"

"How many different things do you thing they're gonna be able to charge him with?" Mouch said again.

When Antonio Dawson had gone into the dilapidated house Jax was calling 'home'...after the dust settled...he'd found a veritable treasure trove. There was tens of thousands of dollars worth of electronic equipment...TVs, computers, sound systems...you name it.

He'd found items people had reported as stolen from vehicles...valuables from home burglaries. Clothing and such from all kinds of stores. But the most damning pieces of evidence was the silver on the table in the "dining room". Newhouse had been right when he said the stuff was the real deal...and Dawson had recognized it immediately as the antique silver that had been stolen from a house on Pensacola a couple of weeks before.

The Pensacola house had been torched...not only to cover up any trace of the robbery...but to conceal the body of the eighty-nine year old homeowner. The perp had caved in the poor woman's skull with a fireplace poker and dragged the frail old woman down to the basement. Then he ransacked the house, poured gasoline all through the structure...and lit a match right before he ran out.

He just underestimated how long it would take the CFD to get there.

So they had enough evidence to charge him with murder...kidnapping...a slew of robberies...credit card fraud...vandalism...auto theft...and vehicle tampering.

No matter which way you looked at it, John Rawlings Carter, aka Jax, would probably never breathe fresh air again.

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After Mouch left for work with his home cooked meal...and Vargas had brought Lexi home from her class, they went through the usual controlled chaos of getting dinner on the table.

Jesse walked in just in time to wash up...and Alyssa came into the living room to help Kelly.

He grit his teeth together as she carefully lowered his ankle from the pile of pillows. His hip and his knee were so stiff...that even that slow, controlled movement made beads of sweat appear on his forehead. Next she helped him to sit forward...and finally guided his injured leg off the couch, and then slowly lowered it to the floor.

After he took a moment to compose himself, Kelly reached up to grab Alyssa by the arm. Using it to steady himself, he got to his feet, then draped his left arm around her shoulders. Leaning heavily on his wife, he carefully shifted his weight.

He felt his ankle wobble and the pain shot up to nearly a ten.

"Mmmmm..." he growled. "Gimme the crutch."

One crutch wasn't much of a help...but it was better than having to put his full weight on a five foot, hundred pound woman.

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Alyssa moved to Kelly's right side as he tucked the crutch under his left arm and began to tale short, hobbling steps toward the kitchen.

One...two...stop...pull it together. One...two...three...stop again.

"Kelly...maybe you need to try the boot. It might give you more support." Alyssa offered.

When he hurt his ankle last winter, the doctor had tried to put him in a walking boot. But Kelly hated that thing with a passion. The straps had cut right across the most tender spot of all and he was practically tearing the damn thing off after only a few minutes. He was much more comfortable with a couple of ACE bandages...and he just assumed this time would be no different.

"You try it..." he grumbled as he stopped again.

But the difference was the last time he wasn't trying to put any weight on the foot. Now, because of his shoulder, he couldn't use both the crutches. He had to put some weight it just for balance. And the bandage wasn't cutting it.

Alyssa stepped closer to her husband, gently circling his waist with her left arm as she reached across to help support his arm folded in the sling across his chest. She wished there was something more she could do for him, but there wasn't.

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When they stepped into the kitchen Jesse immediately got up to pull his dad's chair from the table...and once Kelly was seated...he took the crutch and set it out of the way.

They'd done some rearranging at the table. Usually both the little girls wanted to sit next to their daddy...but now Jesse sat to Kelly's left and Alyssa sat on his right side. Then came the girls...and Andy sat across from Kelly.

Alyssa started to set up Kelly's plate...

"Look!" Lexi said.

She pointed to Jesse.

"Jesse help Wexie..."

She pointed to herself...then Andy...and right down the line.

"An-dee help Maggie...an' Mommy help you, Daddy!"

She seemed very pleased with herself for figuring all that out. But Jesse leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"Eat your green beans, Lexi..."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"I finished my homework, Dad." Jesse said as he stuck his head in the door of his parents' bedroom.

"Okay."

Kelly waited patiently for what he assumed was coming next.

But instead he got an awkward silence.

"Well...'Night..." Jesse finally said.

He turned slowly to go back to his room.

"Whoa...whoa...whoa." Kelly said. "Come back here, Jess."

Jesse turned around again, and came back into the room, head hung...eyes on the floor.

"You're just gonna go to bed?" Kelly asked. "Really?"

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"I don't know what to say..."

"How 'bout you start with what happened with your friend this afternoon? Why'd he run outta here like that? And where'd you go when you went after him?"

Jesse licked his lips...it was suddenly very dry and stuffy in the room.

"I just walked him home." he said. "He didn't know which way to go."

"You were gone over an hour." Kelly pointed out. "Where'd he live?"

"Over on Grace...on the other side of Melvina."

Kelly folded his arms across his chest...the best he could, anyway, waiting for his son to stop beating around the bush.

"What's goin' on, Jess?" he finally asked.

"I don't know." Jesse admitted. "I've been tryin' to figure it all out."

"Well, that's what I'm here for." Kelly told him. "You sit down an' talk to me...and we figure it out together."

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Jesse looked visibly relieved, and Kelly nodded toward the bed, indicating his son should sit down.

Once Jesse was settled...

"Now, talk to me."

Jesse took a deep breath...not entirely sure where to start.

"Well...Jake started at school on Monday...and I felt bad for him. Starting a new school in seventh grade...then coming in like...a month into things...not knowing anybody. But then everything went all crazy..."

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Kelly nodded.

He had to keep reminding himself that this thing that had happened had happened to their entire family...not just him...not just Maggie...Lyssa. The boys and Lexi were just as affected by it. Maybe even more so...because they hadn't seen everything. And Jesse in particular had a very vivid imagination.

"But today I saw him sittin' all by himself over in the corner in the lunchroom..." Jesse went on. "So I went over to him...an' we kinda talked an' I invited him over to hang out."

"So what happened?" Kelly asked. "When you guys went downstairs?"

"Well...he got all quiet...and at first I thought he was just lookin' around." Jesse said. "But then he got this weird look on his face...like somebody punched him in the gut or somethin'. An' next thing I know...he ran off. An' I didn't even think...I just followed him."

Jesse didn't know how to tell the next part. How could he tell his dad that Jake said he couldn't be friends with a firefighter's kid? That he said he hated all firefighters...an' he never wanted to see another one as long as he lived?

But that wasn't even true.

Jake's dad was a firefighter...an' Jake loved his dad more than anybody in the world. His dad was all he had.

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That's what had taken so long that afternoon.

After Jesse and Jake got to his Aunt Ava's house they just sat on the front porch and Jake just started to talk. It was like a dam had broken...and once he got stated he just couldn't stop.

Jake's dad, Rodney, was a Lieutenant too. He was one of the leaders of Engine One, a specialized unit like Squad 3 was. One of those specialties was Trench and Collapse rescue.

About three or four weeks ago, Engine One was called to the scene of a hotel fire in the downtown area. The hotel was about a hundred years old...one of the city's historical landmarks. Because it was an old building, even though it had been brought up to code, Jake said his dad told him that firefighting in those kind of structures could get a little hairy at times.

Jesse nodded.

His dad had told him the same thing.

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This fire had started in the laundry area in a sub-basement...and the workers down there had somehow disabled the smoke alarms so they could sneak a cigarette on the job. The boss apparently looked the other way, 'cause he often joined his employees when they took a smoke break.

When the fire started, at first nobody noticed. But then after it had smoldered for a while, someone smelled something and thinking maybe it was one of the industrial dryers overheating had turned on the fans. The flames took off, scaring the workers. Some of them tried to fight the fire, knowing they were gonna get in big trouble, but they figured out it was no use. So they ran out of the laundry, leaving the fire doors wide open in their haste to escape.

The flames chased after the workers...and as the fire grew bigger and bigger and more and more out of control it got into the laundry chutes that came down from the floors. And an unsuspecting housekeeper on the fifth floor opened the door to send down a cart full of sheets and towels.

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"Jess?" Kelly prompted.

Jesse reluctantly met his dad's eyes.

"Jake got upset when he figured out you were a firefighter." the boy said in a low voice.

"Why would that bother him?"

"'Cause _his_ dad's a firefighter...and he got injured...really bad. He's in the hospital an' he's not gonna be okay...an' that's why Jake had to move here. His mom took off when he was two...an' it's just him an' his dad. He didn't wanna leave...but..."

"There was nowhere for him to go." Kelly finished. "That sucks, Jess. But what does that have to do with _my_ being a firefighter?"

"After the accident Jake kinda bounced around to a bunch 'a different places...friends of his dad. He stayed one night in one place...two nights someplace else...but then it got to be too hard. Especially when school started. An' he said nobody wanted him. He's really pissed that he had to come up here."

That was understandable...that the kid would be pissed. But that was the reality sometimes. Kelly'd known other firefighters who were single parents...an' he really admired the way those guys did it. Newhouse was one of 'em. He had a little girl...an' she'd come by the firehouse once or twice. She was a nice kid, about Andy and Jesse's age. Maybe a little younger.

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Slowly...Jesse told Kelly the whole story.

By the time Engine One arrived on the scene, the hotel was fully engulfed up to the seventh floor. The firefighters were having to evacuate the upper floors to the roof and remove the victims by ladder...by chopper...any way they could.

But the lower floors still had occupants trapped, and walls and ceilings were starting to come down in places. Engine One was charged with those rescues. They got five people out...and they were going after two more. A young couple was trapped in a corner of the seventh floor, and Rodney Sayer and his team barreled their way up the stairwell and into the blazing corridor. The men were working their way down to the southeast end of the building, when a wall of flames blocked their way.

One of the men grabbed a fire hose from the its case on the wall and another hurriedly hooked it to a standpipe. It took precious seconds to charge the line, but with the Lieutenant in the lead, they leveled a stream of water at the blaze and slowly began to advance.

They didn't get far.

The men were standing...lined up on the hose...when the building shook violently. And the floor they were standing on and the ceiling above them collapsed simultaneously.

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Kelly just listened to his son tell the story in fits and stops.

He had seen that fire. He and the men at Station 51 had watched the horror unfold on CNN and they knew what they were seeing was bad.

Now he realized exactly how bad.

"They couldn't get to the men, Dad." Jesse said. "Jake told me his dad was trapped in there for a long time...and none of his team made it out. Jake's dad was the only survivor. An' he's still in bad shape. He hasn't woke up...an' he doesn't even know Jake's gone!"

That was like what happened to Kelly...after Darren Chesnick attacked him in the tire shop. His injuries had been so grievous that the doctors had kept him in a coma for sixteen days.

And he had missed Maggie's second birthday.

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"Jake said his dad's Captain was the one who contacted his Aunt Ava. His dad's not even close to her...an' Jake barely knows her at all! An' his aunt put him in St. Pasqual's...Jake's never even been to church before. He didn't make his Communion or Reconciliation...so he's like...way behind. It just makes him stick out even more. He doesn't know anything we're talkin' about in Religion, he doesn't know the prayers we say...he says he just feels really left out."

"That's a lot of stuff to put on a kid." Kelly said sympathetically.

But he still didn't understand why Jake had freaked out. He would have thought being around a firefighting family would feel familiar.

"He's mad at the Captain." Jesse said. "He's mad that these other people made all these decisions about his life...when he's sure this isn't what his dad would want."

"But if there's no family, Jess...what're they gonna do? Jake can't live by himself."

"But our family worked it all out." Jesse said. "When you got hurt, we didn't get sent away."

"It's different with us...and you know that. For one thing...your mom and I are together...and even if something happened to me, your mom's still gonna take care of you kids. And we have your grandparents...and all your aunts and uncles and your cousins...and we have our firehouse family. If anything happens to me, Uncle Matt and Aunt Leslie and everybody else steps right up."

"So why couldn't the firefighters in St. Louis step up?" Jesse asked. "Like they do here?"

"We don't know what the situation is." Kelly told his son. "Not every firehouse is like Station 51. Not every company is as tight as we are."

"I thought they were all supposed to be like brothers. That's what you always say. That's what Grandpa Benny says."

"And sometimes brothers fight. Sometimes they can't stand each other." Kelly said. "You've heard this story. For a long time...after Darden died...Uncle Matt and I couldn't even look at each other. He was mad at me 'cause I didn't vent the back of that house. And I was mad at him for puttin' Andy through that window. I told him it shoulda been him...lead from the front. I really regret sayin' that. I was a real ass to him."

"But you worked it out..." Jesse whispered.

"Yeah...we did." Kelly agreed. "After your mom and I met...and when she got hurt...the whole team really rallied around her...rallied around me. Then we found out you and your brother were comin'...and that pretty much solidified things."

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Kelly promised to make some calls in the morning to see if he could find out any more about the hotel fire and about Jake and his dad's situation down in St. Louis. In the meantime...Jesse could just keep trying to reach out...keep inviting Jake over...and they'd do their best to make him feel welcome.

"Just that he told you all the stuff he did, Jess..." Kelly said. "It means he trusts you...an' I think he needed a friend, especially one who understands what he's goin' through."

"But you were okay..." Jesse said.

"But for a long time we didn't know that." Kelly reminded him gently. "Remember how long I was out for? For most of that time it was 'touch 'n go' as to whether or not I'd be able to go back or if I'd have to go on long-term disability."

He went on.

"There's somethin' very common to all firefighter's kids...and all cops kids." he said. "You worry about your parents in a way most kids don't ever have to. I felt the same way about my dad. Even though I didn't see Grandpa for weeks or months at a time...I always knew when he was on shift. And every morning I'd scour the paper for any news about fires...which companies were involved...was anyone hurt. Jake knows you get it. And I'll bet that was important to him."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Kelly ended his phone call and threw the offending device across the living room out of frustration. He'd spent half the morning on the phone to St. Louis trying to find out more information about Jake's dad. But he wasn't making any headway.

He sure found out plenty about the fire, though.

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That fire had to have been just about the worst one he'd ever heard about...after 9/11.

Not that Station 51 hadn't been involved in plenty of heroic efforts...but from what he'd learned, Lieutenant Sayer's team had fallen two stories, then had a ceiling come down on top of them. They all made it through the initial collapse, although two of the six men were injured. Their brothers had pulled them to relative safety...but their escape was blocked from all sides. They were sitting ducks, waiting for a rescue.

A rescue that wasn't able to happen.

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Severide couldn't imagine the agony of being holed up in a little pocket, a fire raging all around, trying to keep his men focused on survival, all the while firing off Mayday after Mayday. Talking to the Chief on the outside...being told to just hold on a little while longer.

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The air was running out...and they men started "buddy breathing"...like SCUBA divers to try and conserve what was left in the tanks. And then one man succumbed to his injuries.

The others must have felt like thieves, using his air...but he didn't need it anymore, Sayer said. He'd want his brothers to get out...to go home to their families...to take care of his kids. Then another man took his last breath.

After that, things got really bad. A third man panicked...and tried to fight his way out. Sayer and another Lieutenant tried to hold him back...but he broke free...and ran headfirst into the flames. They pulled him back...but he was severely burned.

'We're gonna die in here' the second Lieutenant said. But Sayer wouldn't let him say it. He had to get home to his boy...and there just wasn't another alternative.

The burned firefighter didn't last long, fortunately for him. As hard as it was to see a brother die right in front of you...this was for the best. There were three men left. The two Lieutenants and a rookie named Hall. The kid was barely twenty-two. Barely old enough to order a beer.

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Outside the Chief frantically tried to mount a rescue attempt...but the teams would only get so far...then be driven back. It was like that movie...Ladder 49...where the older, more seasoned firefighter had to listen to his protégé tell him to stay back...to hear the realization in his man's voice that he knows he's gonna die. That's what the Chief was hearing.

When the fire was finally brought under control and a team finally got to the men...they found they were all gone...except for Rod Sayer...who was holding on by a thread.

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But that was all he got. Nobody would talk to him about Jake...about his situation.

"Look..." the Captain had barked over the line. "I don' know who the hell you are...tellin' me how to run my crew..."

"That's not what I'm tryin' to do!" Severide protested. "I'm just askin' if there's anybody there to take the kid back! He's not happy here..."

"We all got families of our own to take care of." the Captain said. "Nobody's got the resources to take Jake in indefinitely...permanently."

"Just till the dad gets back on his feet..."

"Get your head outta your damn ass! Lieutenant Sayer's never gonna get back on his feet!"

And the Captain hung up.

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Severide got that the man was in a tight spot. He was under fire...the Chief was under fire...the Commissioner and right on up the ladder. The five men from Engine One weren't the only fatalities. Three other firefighters hadn't made it out...and neither had three civilians. Sixteen firefighters and one EMT were injured...and scores of hotel guests were taken to area hospitals.

It was a bad day for the St. Louis Fire Department and everybody and their brother had been crawling up their collective ass scrutinizing every call, second guessing every move.

Talk about your Monday morning quarter-backing.

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"Kelly?" Alyssa said as she came out from the kitchen.

She could see he was upset...but now she had more bad news.

"What?" he growled.

Alyssa curled up beside him and gently put her arms around her husband. And Kelly melted into her.

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"How're you doin'? she whispered.

"Great..." he grumbled. "I'm gettin' stonewalled by some Captain in St. Louis..."

"It might not be possible to get Jake back to his dad, Kelly." she said. "You know how hard it was on the boys when you were injured. It was heartbreaking...Andy was angry and lashing out at everyone...Jesse was so scared and he'd just start crying at the drop of a hat."

"That's why I think Jake needs to be around his dad. So he can see him get better." he said. "The boys started comin' around eventually..."

"I think Jake just needs a lot of support. And he'll get more of that here."

"We don't know that." Kelly argued. "Jesse said his dad's not even close with his sister...they haven't seen each other in years. What kinda support system is that?"

"Well, hopefully Jesse'll bring him around here..." Alyssa said. "We've always got room for one more, right?"

She leaned over to kiss him. And held him a little tighter.

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"Who called while I was on the phone?" he asked.

He'd heard the house phone ring...

"It was Dr. Leary." Alyssa told him.

Dr. Leary was the orthopedic surgeon who had repaired Alyssa's shoulder...and that who Kelly had gone to see the day before.

"I'm not supposed to go back to see him for a couple weeks yet. What'd he want?"

Lyssa sighed.

Kelly wasn't going to like what the doctor had had to say.

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"He asked Dr. Darrow to take a look at your ankle x-rays." she said hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

That made sense. Dr. Darrow was a foot and ankle specialist.

"So Dr. Leary had him look at the films..." Alyssa said again. "And he spotted a fracture of the distal fibula."

Kelly started to protest...but shut his mouth and just stared off across the room.

This was all he needed.

"It makes sense, Honey." Alyssa whispered. "It explains why you've been in so much pain."

"So now what?" he grumbled.

But he knew. That damn boot. Great.

"I know, Baby..." Alyssa whispered to him again. "I know..."

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Lyssa was helping him put it on when Shay came in with Lexi.

"How does that feel?" she asked.

"It's not bad..." Kelly conceded.

"You wanna get up? Road test it?"

But he shook his head, so Alyssa just raised it up with another pillow.

"Daddy!" Lexi squealed as she came running through the house.

The little girl went to throw herself at Kelly, but Alyssa stopped her.

"No, no, no..." she said as she caught Lexi in her arms. "We gotta be gentle with Daddy. We don't want to hurt him."

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Her words made Kelly squirm. He hated having his kids tiptoe around him, even when they probably should. He'd gone through it too many times with Andy and Jesse...and having to watch them struggle to be extra good and have their usual childish exuberance stifled was more painful than whatever injury he'd suffered.

"C'mere, Baby..." he said, holding out his good arm. "Daddy needs a big hug."

As he pulled his baby close and snuggled her against him...he couldn't miss the look his wife shot in his direction.

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"Docket number 2027-CR-9472. The People v. John Rawlings Carter. Charged with kidnapping in the first degree."

The defendant was wheeled into the courtroom wearing prison jumps and a smug smile on his pimple scarred face. And in the third row, sat three firefighters who wanted nothing more than to wipe it right off.

Chief Boden, Hermann and Mouch sat stone-faced as the judge asked the defendant for his plea.

"Not Guilty."

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"The people request that the defendant be held without bond, Your Honor." the State's Attorney said.

She was a tiny...tiny woman, no bigger than Alyssa. And young too. But she held her head high and spoke in a loud, clear voice to make herself heard over the buzz in the courtroom.

"Jeez..." Hermann muttered under his breath. "She looks like she's twelve..."

"Ten'll get you twenty she's still got the training wheels on her bike..." Mouch added.

"Shut it down, you two..." Boden muttered.

But he was thinking the same things.

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"Objection..." the public defender shouted. "My client has suffered serious injuries..."

The State's Attorney broke in.

"The defendant has no permanent address, Your Honor. He has no family ties, no job, he's known to associate with criminals, drug addicts...the People consider him to be a flight risk."

"Where's he gonna go in his condition?" the public defender sneered.

"To the hospital wing at the County Jail." the judge droned. "The defendant is remanded to the County Infirmary."

And she dropped her gavel to close the matter.

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The men from Station 51 stood up and pushed their way to the front of the room.

"Ms. Sanders?"

The prosecutor turned to see where the deep bass voice had come from.

"Yes?"

"Wallace Boden, ma'am...CFD...Chief of Battalion 25." the Chief introduced himself, then his friends. "Firefighters Christopher Hermann...and Randy McHolland."

"What can I do for you gentleman?"

"We work with Lieutenant Kelly Severide...his daughter was the one kidnapped..." Boden began.

Hermann cut to the chase.

"Are you the one who's gonna try the case against that piece 'a garbage?"

"Yes..." Ms. Sanders answered. "Yes, I've been assigned."

"You think you're up for the job?" Hermann asked, as his friends shot him a scathing look...causing him to quickly add... "No offense."

The prosecutor looked the three men up and down.

"Mr. ...Hermann?" she began.

He nodded.

Ms. Sanders drew herself up to her full height.

"I assure you, Mr. Hermann, not only am I up for the job...but I'm looking forward to putting that bastard away for the rest of his natural life."

The three firemen looked at one another...and slowly the each nodded their heads, satisfied with what they'd heard.

Now they could go and report back to Severide that the case was in good hands.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Hey..." Jesse said as he slipped in to a seat next to Jake in Mr. Morrissey's class.

"Hey..." Jake replied halfheartedly.

Jesse pulled his folder and notebook from his backpack.

"You didn't get in any trouble yesterday?" he asked. "For not going right home after school?"

Jake shook his head.

"Aunt Ava didn't even notice. I think she forgot I live there."

Jesse could relate to the feeling of being invisible. Because they were twins, most people...even people in the family...treated him and Andy like they were one person.

"That sucks." he said.

"You ain't kiddin'." Jake replied.

Suddenly the classroom door slammed as Mr. Morrissey came rushing in.

"Okay, okay...enough socializing." he said. "Sorry I'm late, but we've got a lot to cover today!"

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After class the boys were gathering their things together when Mr. Morrissey called Jesse over.

"Yes, Sir?"

The teacher handed Jesse an envelope.

"Give that to your parents..." he said.

"What is it?" Jesse asked.

"It's about the book sales." Mr. Morrissey said. "Your dad asked us to hold off on publicizing it because of what was going on, right?"

Jesse nodded uneasily. Talking about it made him feel uncomfortable.

"Well...hopefully..." the teacher seemed to be hunting for the right words. "That situation's resolved now...and...there's no more danger...and... we can start getting the word out. We've got a thousand copies of your book in the office ready to sell."

Mr. Morrissey looked uncomfortable, like he didn't want to sound callous.

And Jesse felt uncomfortable as he slipped the envelope into his back pack.

"I'll give it to 'em..." he said.

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He walked out into the hall, his thoughts spinning.

"You look like you're gonna puke." Jake said.

"I kinda feel like it."

"What was that about?"

"Last year I wrote this story...and it ended up being really long..." Jesse said. "Anyway, Mr. Morrissey got real excited about it, and he had it made into a book and they were gonna sell it as a fund raiser for the school. They were gonna do articles in the paper...an' I was supposed to go on some TV program...but then my dad got nervous 'cause the people that snatched my sister were still out there. He didn't want them to find out where we lived. Turned out they already knew."

"What was it about?" Jake asked. "The story, I mean..."

"Oh...it was about this kid who gets lost on a field trip to see an exhibit about the Chicago Fire...and he meets this boy who takes him back in time to see the fire firsthand." Jesse said.

Then he smiled a rueful grin.

"You can read it...if you want." he offered generously. "We only got, like, a thousand copies."

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Jake laughed.

"You wanna hang out after school?" he asked.

He was hoping Jesse would invite him back to his house...because he didn't know if he could face his Aunt Ava's. It was so different than what he was used to with his dad.

His dad trusted him to let himself into their apartment...to get his homework done...do his chores. With Aunt Ava it was like he was no bigger than his cousins...two little girls, eight and six. When she bothered to notice him, that is. He was either totally invisible...or she was on him like white on rice. And it was not only about school...apparently there was a "right" way to make the bed...to hang a towel in the bathroom...to rinse out the sink after you brushed your teeth.

And then there was the "wrong" way Jake had been taught.

His uncle wasn't any help at all...Uncle Curtis just sat behind his books and his papers...when he wasn't shut up in his office. It seemed the only time he talked was to say some long winded prayer before they could eat.

"I wish I could..." Jesse said. "But my brother and I have football practice over at the park."

He saw his new friend's face just sink...

"You could come with..." he offered. "And maybe you sleep over tonight?"

Jake smiled again. That sounded even better...

"That's sounds good." he said coolly.

"Don't you need to check it out with your aunt or anything?" Jesse asked.

Jake shook his head.

"She probably won't even notice...unless she needs someone to take out the garbage."

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After school the boys walked to Jake's to pick up his stuff.

"Where've you been, Jacob?" his aunt asked as they walked through the door.

"Nowhere..." Jake answered.

"Your cousins got home twenty minutes ago..." she went on. "You know I was expecting you to walk with them...a little girl got kidnapped just five blocks from here!"

Jesse shifted from one foot to the other as this whole scene played out.

"This is Jesse Severide..." Jake said. "I'm gonna go stay over at his house tonight..."

Aunt Ava was taken aback...

"What?" she said. "No, you're not going anywhere, young man."

"Yes I am...and you can't stop me!"

"We don't know his family..."

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Jesse interrupted.

"Excuse me, ma'am." he said.

Aunt Ava turned to look at the boy her nephew had just brought home.

"I invited Jake to stay over..." he said.

"Well, it's nothing personal..." the aunt said. "But I'm responsible for my nephew, and I don't know anything about you...or your family."

"I can take care of myself!" Jake argued. "You don't have any contact with me and Dad for years...and suddenly you're responsible?!"

Jesse went on, like Jake's outburst didn't mean a thing.

"Whaddya want to know?" he asked. "I go to St. Pasqual's...I'm in seventh grade...I've got a twin brother, Andy...and two little sisters. My dad's a firefighter...he's a Lieutenant in charge of a Rescue Squad. My mom's one of the owners of Helping Hands..."

Jake's aunt chewed nervously on her bottom lip. On the one hand...she could just flat out say 'no'...but on the other, Jake was miserable. She knew that. He didn't want to be here...and he made that known. He didn't want to do anything with the family...he didn't even try to fit in. And it just made everybody get stressed out.

Maybe Jake was starting to make friends...maybe if he went with this boy...Jesse...maybe it would help break the ice in other areas too.

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It's not that she didn't love her nephew...it's just she and her brother had a falling out about ten years ago.

She never liked Risa...Jake's mom. And she never liked the fact that Rod had never married her. She'd converted to Catholicism four years before that...right when Risa got pregnant...and she really felt strongly about marriage_ before_ babies.

Then after Jake was born, Rod rejected her suggestion to get the baby baptized. He didn't believe in all that, he said.

When Jake was two...Rod had had enough of dead-end jobs and he applied to the Fire Academy. He was accepted...the department was expanding...and his number came up right away in the lottery. So he threw himself into his training...he loved it! He really felt like he'd found his calling.

And Ava was proud of him...that he was taking such a big step. Finding a career he loved was going to be great for his family...

But Risa didn't think so. She resented the time he spent in training and doing extra drills...taking advanced classes. He wasn't paying enough attention to her. He'd rather run into a burning building than be with her.

So she told him to quit...and when Rod refused...she said she was leaving.

Rod tried to reason with her...what about Jake? He wanted to be a father to his son. Well that was fine with her, Risa told him. She wanted a clean break...a fresh start. Then she said something horrible...so horrible Ava couldn't believe it when Rod told her.

Risa said she never wanted a kid in the first place...and that she tried to have an abortion but she waited too long.

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When Risa left, Ava tried to help her brother. She babysat when he was on shift or in training. But he didn't like all the religion stuff. He didn't mind if she took him to Mass on Sunday if she was babysitting...but going every day? And quit pressuring him about baptizing Jake. He wasn't Catholic...neither was Risa.

So Ava asked her brother to convert. She'd been thinking about it for a while...she really believed faith was the answer. If Rod came into the Church...he might find a nice Catholic woman who would be willing to accept him and his child...and...

But Rod wasn't having any part of it. He wasn't going to become a Catholic...religion wasn't even important to him. And if Ava could respect his choice...then that was too bad.

Ava met her husband Curtis on a retreat shortly after that. And she took it as a sign from God...if she had had Jake that weekend, she wouldn't have gone on the trip...and never met the Godly man she knew she was destined to spend forever with.

After their wedding, she and Curtis moved North to Chicago where his family lived. And Ava embraced her new life, her new role as a wife and soon after that a mom. She thought of her brother and her nephew...and she prayed for them.

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But she always was afraid Rod's professed lack of faith would lead to disaster. And when she got the call from his Captain...her worst fear was realized.

Jake didn't want to come to Chicago...away from his dad and his friends and his school...but the Captain and the other men Rod worked with were stretched thin. They had five firefighters to bury...five families in crisis. And they had their own families too...nobody had the resources or the where-with-all to take in a scared twelve, almost thirteen year old boy.

Ava knew it would be hard...she just didn't know how hard. Jake didn't have any memories of the times they'd spent together when he was a toddler. All he knew was what his dad told him. That his aunt was really into religion...and she had moved to Chicago with her husband...who was also really into religion. And his dad couldn't handle all the prostelytism...so he kept his distance.

As terrible as it sounded...and God forgive her for feeling this way...having Jake out of the house even for a night would be a relief for her...and Curtis and the girls.

This boy...Jesse...obviously he was from a Catholic family. They must be strong in their faith if they sent their kids to Catholic school. And the dad was a firefighter. Maybe that would make Jake feel comfortable...and he'd be less angry and confrontational.

So she said yes.

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Jesse wrote down his address and phone number along with his parents' names on a piece of paper so Jake's aunt would know where he was going...and Jake threw a few things together and the boys headed for the Severide's.

Andy was in the kitchen, scraping dried mud off his cleats with a butter knife.

Where was Jesse? They had to get to football practice and he wasn't home yet. Uncle Pete was already there, waiting to take them.

He'd seen his brother walking off with that new kid...the same one he'd gone off with yesterday instead of hanging out after school to play basketball with Connor and the rest of the guys from the neighborhood.

The door to the four seasons room opened and closed and Jesse walked in followed by the new kid.

"Where've you been?" Andy asked. "We're gonna be late! Uncle Pete's waiting!"

"Okay...okay." Jesse replied. "Don't get your shorts all in a bunch. I'm going to change."

He started toward the stairs.

"Jake...this is my brother Andy." he said. "Andy...this is Jake Sayer."

"Hey." Jake said.

"Hey." Andy replied.

Then he turned back to his brother.

"Move your butt already."

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Jesse stepped out into the dining room and Jake followed him.

"Hey, Dad." he called out. "Hey, Uncle Pete."

"What 'bout me?" Lexi piped up. "I not 'visible!"

"Hey, Lexi." Jesse said.

The little girl nodded in satisfaction, while Kelly and Mills the insides of their cheeks to keep from laughing.

"In-visible, Lexi." Mills said, still trying to stifle his chuckles. "You're not in-visible."

"Dat's what I said..." Lexi told him. "Wasn't you yiss-sining?"

Severide caught Mills eye and shook his head. It wasn't worth arguing over.

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"Dad?" Jesse asked. "Where's Mom?"

"She's upstairs puttin' clothes away."

"Okay..." Jesse said.

Then he turned to Jake.

"You wanna wait down here?"

Before Jake could answer, Kelly said

"Sure...c'mon in." he said as he motioned with his left hand. "Have a seat in here."

Jake edged his was cautiously into the living room while Jesse headed up the stairs to change for football and talk to his mom.

"It's okay..." Kelly said, noticing the boy's nervousness. "We don't bite."

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Jake approached the sectional sofa and sat down on the arm.

"Jake...this is Pete Mills. He's one of the firefighters on Squad 3." Kelly told him. "Mills...this is Jake, Jesse's friend.

Mills stood up and skirted around Lexi, who was trying to snap two pieces of K'nex together. He held out his hand to the boy.

"Pleased to meet you..."

Jake got up to shake Mills' hand, then back up to his perch at the end of the couch again.

Severide continued to try and break the ice with the kid.

"Jake just moved here a couple weeks ago from St. Louis."

"Must be rough, moving in the middle of the school year." Mills said.

Jake nodded.

"Yeah..." he agreed. "It su...stinks."

He wasn't sure if he should say "sucks" in front of Jesse's baby sister. Aunt Ava and Uncle Curtis would tear him a new one if he said that around their girls...but not everyone was that uptight.

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Upstairs, Jesse found his mom in her room putting away clothes.

"Hey, Mom..."

Alyssa looked up from what she was doing and then turned around to glance at the clock on her nightstand.

"Are you just coming home?" she asked. "You need to get changed. You've gotta leave in five minutes."

"I know..." Jesse said. "But I need to ask you first...is it okay if Jake goes with to my practice? And can he stay over? I know I'm not supposed to put you and Dad on the spot...but he's downstairs with his stuff. He's really miserable...and I just met his aunt..."

"You're right." Alyssa told him. "You're not supposed to put us on the spot like this...but it's okay this one time."

"Thanks, Mom..."

"Your dad called the Captain in St. Louis this morning...and he told me about Jake's dad."

"What'd he find out?" Jesse asked.

He was eager to get the rest of the story...or at least more of it.

"It's not good." Alyssa said. "But we can talk later. Right now you need to get a move on..."

"Okay...

Five minutes later Jesse came thundering down the stairs.

"Sorry I took so long..." he said. "I'm ready."

Mills stood up again and ruffled his fingers through Lexi's hair.

"Okay." he said. "Let's roll..."

He glanced at his watch. They were gonna need the lights and sirens if they were gonna make it to practice on time.


End file.
